


New Traditions

by maniacalchimera



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:17:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22120123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maniacalchimera/pseuds/maniacalchimera
Summary: Ienzo and Demyx discuss New Year's traditions as their first new year as Somebodies approaches.
Relationships: Demyx/Zexion (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26
Collections: Kingdom Hearts Holiday Gift Exchange





	New Traditions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WorldofValdis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorldofValdis/gifts).



“Okay, explain it to me again, but in words that are three syllables or less.”

Ienzo may actually smack him. “It’s _not_ that complicated, Demyx!” he huffs, breath visibly fogging in the cold air.

Demyx looks up at the large bell, hung almost precariously over the gardens, then looks back at Ienzo. “Com-pli-ca-ted,” he says, tapping a finger with each syllable.

Ienzo stomps his foot and crunches the snow beneath it. His hands are hidden by mittens, but he puts up one finger as distinctly as possible. “Fuck. Off.”

“There, you see? I understood that perfectly.” Demyx tips his head up at the bell again. “Okay, let me see what I got. So you ring the bell with the clock at midnight.”

_“Someone_ rings the bell, yes.” Ienzo rolls his eyes. “It’s not decided until that night. Master Ansem picks the luckiest person in town. Normally it ends up being one of the children. I got to ring it, the year they first took me in.”

Demyx nods with a hum. “Ansem picks favorites to ring the bell, got it.”

This time, Ienzo does smack him. “Not everything Master Ansem does needs criticized, you know,” he says. “I don’t understand your need to disagree with his every action.”

“We got off on the wrong foot,” Demyx says, shrugging.

“You punched him.”

“He said _you_ were to blame for getting Nobodied at age ten!”

Ienzo huffs again, but doesn’t say any more. They’ve had this argument multiple times and it never ends with either of them happy. He’s not looking for a fight on New Year’s Eve. “Anyway,” he says, “someone will be picked, regardless of criteria, and then they ring the bell twelve times.”

“And then it becomes a piñata,” Demyx says, pointing up at it. They’re not quite beneath it, but even from here, Ienzo can see the white bags wrapped around the bell’s insides, carefully placed by Dilan and Aeleus earlier today.

“…somewhat,” he sighs. “At least you were trying to pay attention. Yes, they ring the bell twelve times, and the clapper will burst the bags of candy. But the important part is that most times, it’s before the twelfth ring that the candy bags break. Whatever ring frees the candy, that will be the luckiest month of the year.”

Demyx frowns, like he’s still trying to process the information that most of the kindergarteners in Radiant Garden already know by heart. “So if you’ve got a particularly strong kid, you could end up with a lucky January, and a shit rest of the year.”

“It doesn’t automatically make the rest of the year awful, Demyx! Stop being such a pessimist.” Ienzo bumps their arms together. “It’s just for fun,” he says. “It gives people something to look forward to. And it’s an excuse for candy.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Demyx’s hand wraps around his, much as the mitten allows. “So what was this year’s lucky month?”

Ienzo glances away, at the snow-covered ground. It’s fresh from last night, thick enough that their footprints haven’t brought up the dirt from below and ruined the wintery look. _A new start._ “I don’t know,” he says. “You’d have to ask one of the Restoration Committee. We were…recompleted after the new year this year.”

“Mm.” Demyx doesn’t look at him, but the grip on his hand gets tighter.

There’s silence for a moment, something Ienzo once would have thought Demyx incapable of. He’s learned a lot about him, over the past few months; they’ve learned a lot about each other. Maybe Demyx has learned that sometimes, silence is what Ienzo needs.

“…it’s kinda complex, though, don’t you think?”

So he’s still working on the length of the silence, but Ienzo will applaud the effort. “What’s complex?” he asks.

“This,” Demyx says, waving his free hand towards the bell. “Like, gee, someone put a lot of effort into thinking that one up. There’s so many different parts to it, the bell and the lucky person and the candy and like… _counting.”_

“Demyx, you’re a musician,” Ienzo says flatly. “Counting is not that hard.”

“Alright, got me there.” Demyx shrugs. “It’s just a lot to put together, is all I’m saying.”

Ienzo stares at him, formulating an argument in his head before deciding that it’s probably not worth it. “It’s just tradition,” he decides on. “It’s what we do. Don’t you have any New Year’s traditions, from your old home?”

Demyx’s face no longer tightens at the mention of it, an existence before the Organization. They both know he’s not going back; and maybe that’s what makes it easier to talk about. “Yeah,” he says. “Ours were way simpler.”

“Oh really.” Ienzo smirks at him. “Enlighten me.”

Demyx lightly flicks Ienzo’s nose. “Oh yeah, prepare to be dazzled by the timeless traditions of some dirty old port town,” he laughs. “We threw plates at each other’s houses.”

“…what?”

“Yeah, you know,” Demyx says, quite casually despite the fact that Ienzo clearly does not know. “Everyone saved up their old and broken dishes, stuff that’s like, chipped, or that they’re gonna get rid of anyway. And then on New Year’s, we’d toss them at our friends’ doors, for good luck.”

“For good _luck?”_ Ienzo repeats incredulously. “What’s lucky about, about broken glass and china?”

Demyx snorts, and he’s got that look, that stupid _‘I know more than you’_ look he’ll use on the rare occasions he thinks he knows more than Ienzo, and the rarer occasions when he actually does. “It’s supposed to get rid of all the bad stuff from the last year. You’re throwing out any baggage to start clean. And doing it for your friends meant you were wishing them the same clean start to the year, without any bad stuff clinging to them.” His grin relaxes into something a little less smug, a little more wistful. “It was always a lot of fun,” he says. “And the taverns always had _boatloads_ of extra dishes, for people like the sailors who didn’t really have a ton of old plates they could get rid of. They let me throw some, too.”

“That’s a lot of broken glass to clean up the next day,” Ienzo says. “It’s not like the candy, where you can just eat it and make it go away.”

“That’s quitter’s talk,” Demyx says, and Ienzo smacks him again. “Okay, okay! So most of it got swept up, but it was a port town, full of drunk sailors. There was always broken glass around anyway, what was the difference?”

Ienzo shakes his head. He’s glad, no matter how annoying his boyfriend can be, that he’s living here now, with clean streets and reliable food and a _roof._ “Well, I hope it doesn’t spoil your new year, but we probably won’t be doing that,” he says. “Aeleus would murder us if we went for any of his plates.”

Demyx shrugs. “That’s fair,” he says. “I feel like all your parents would kill me if I attempted it. We can stick to the bell piñata, I’ll never argue with candy.”

“Yes, we are all aware how food-motivated you are.”

“Hey!” He reaches and pokes Ienzo’s cheek. “Like I don’t have to fight with you and your sweet tooth every time Dilan brings donuts in!”

“I leave you plenty!” Ienzo argues.

“You leave me the jelly-filled ones!”

“Yes, and there’s always plenty of those left.” Ienzo sticks out his tongue.

Demyx shoves at him, but with their hands still together it’s not long before he’s tugged back again. “Look, with the size of that bell, I’m _assuming_ there will be enough candy that we won’t have to fight over it.”

“You’ll have to fight the kids, though,” Ienzo says. “They always scramble like pigeons with bread crumbs to get all the best pieces. It’s like a stampede.”

“Oh, dammit.” Demyx frowns. “Even will get mad at me if I beat up a toddler for chocolate.”

“Yes, yes he will.” Ienzo rolls his eyes, but he can’t stop himself from grinning. “There’s a lot of leftover candy that didn’t fit in the bags,” he says. “Aeleus always buys more than we need. There will be some for you, and it won’t be covered in snow, either.”

“I do love your family,” Demyx says, “in case it wasn’t clear.”

“I think they know.” Ienzo squeezes their hands tight and takes a couple steps back from the bell, pulling Demyx with him. It looks nice, shining silver against a grey sky that promises more snow before the year is out.

The silence lasts a little bit longer this time, but Demyx does break it again, pressing their arms together. “I think Ansem should let Naminé ring the bell,” he says. “I don’t know if she’s the luckiest person, but it’s gonna be her first New Year’s and she deserves something nice.”

“Well that’s very mature of you, Demyx.” Ienzo grins at him. “I was expecting you to demand to be the one to ring it.”

“Oh please. I’m the opposite of lucky. I’d bring a curse on the whole city.” Demyx motions up to the bell. “The candy bags wouldn’t break, or the whole bell would come down or something.”

“Come on,” Ienzo says, “you don’t think you got lucky at all this year?”

Demyx looks at him, then grins. “Well,” he says, “maybe a little bit.” He drops Ienzo’s hand and reaches to wrap an arm around his waist instead. “But I shouldn’t ring the bell anyway,” he continues. “It’d mess up one of my other traditions.”

“Another one?” Ienzo lifts an eyebrow. “Hopefully this one doesn’t involve throwing the silverware.”

“Ha.” Demyx tilts his head to bump it lightly against Ienzo’s. “No, nothing that destructive,” he says. “This one’s an old one, but I never got a chance to do it. Mostly cuz I was too young, when I lived on the docks.”

“If this involves alcohol…”

“Oh no,” Demyx says, “they let me drink.”

“Demyx!” Another thing that Ienzo has learned from Demyx: he is not at all cut out to be a sailor. “Alright, so if you were thirteen and getting yourself wasted to throw plates, what were you too young to do?”

Demyx grins at him, but his eyes aren’t quite on Ienzo’s face, looking slightly past him instead. “Well,” he starts, “there was a saying. When the clock in the palace tower struck midnight, if you kissed the person you loved, they’d stay safe to keep kissing you all year long.” Even against his darker skin, it’s easy to see the flush growing on Demyx’s cheeks.

Not that Ienzo can talk, his own face going a much more noticeable red. “…I think I’ve heard something similar, from my fathers,” he says. “I assumed they were just being sappy.”

“Holidays can be like that.” Demyx chews on the corner of his lip, a nervous habit Ienzo’s noticed. “I dunno, I just figured…it’s a nice thought, and if neither of us were occupied at midnight…”

Ienzo shifts in Demyx’s grip, turning so he can get an arm around him as well. “…I’m hoping this year will not have nearly as much danger we’ll require protection from,” he says. “But it _is_ a tradition, after all.”

“A simpler one than yours,” Demyx teases.

Ienzo looks up at him and makes a face, despite his burning cheeks. “Now I don’t think that’s fair to say. There’s certainly some complications to be had there. For example, what if you kiss too early, or too late? Does it change the good luck wish? What if we mess it up, and then we’re unlucky all year?”

Demyx stares at him. “…so what you’re saying is, we have to practice.”

Well now Ienzo’s about as bright as a tomato. “No, wait, that’s not what I meant! I was just—I was taking the piss out of you about it!”

“Nope, too late! We gotta practice so it’ll be perfect for you!” Demyx laughs and, before Ienzo can offer any more protest, scoops him up into both arms and spins them around in the snow. Ienzo squawks and grabs for Demyx’s shoulders, but two spins in and he’s starting to laugh, too. They go around just enough that Ienzo’s feeling slightly dizzy and then Demyx stops, smiling down at him.

Ienzo moves first, maybe because he likes to surprise Demyx, maybe because his head is spinning and it feels right. He presses his lips to Demyx’s, light and gentle but still warm between them. When he pulls away, it takes a moment for his breath to come back. “…I’m glad it’s you I’m spending the new year with,” he says.

“Me too.” Demyx presses their foreheads together. The silence is shortest this time, but it has the most feeling; and it’s the most important to break. “I love you,” Demyx says quietly.

“Love you too.” Ienzo pulls his hand from Demyx’s shoulder and gently cups his cheek. “Now you should put me down before we slip and crack our heads open.”

“Ye of little faith,” Demyx scoffs. “One time isn’t practice!”

“It’s _cold,_ Demyx!”

“You feel plenty warm to me!” Demyx lifts him closer and this kiss is fast but feels just as strong. “Fine, we’ll practice more inside.” He spins them once more and then moves out of the garden.

Ienzo smacks lightly at his face. “Demyx, I can walk! Demyx! This is _embarrassing,_ all of you and your obsessions with carrying me!” But the arguments never work and he settles against Demyx’s chest with a sigh. It’s warm here, at least, and he’ll admit he does feel a little safer already.

He thinks it’s probably going to be a good year.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year! It's mostly sappy and dumb but I hope you enjoyed it!  
> I hate most all of the Somebody names for Demyx and didn't want to pick one you didn't like anyway, so hopefully it's cool he just uses his Nobody one. Demyx is a chill dude, he doesn't care about names, he's just here for the candy.


End file.
